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Cycling is almost five times safer than driving for men under 21, a study
shows. Researchers from University College London used hospital admissions
data over a two-year period and responses to the National
Transport Survey to compare safety levels for pedestrians, drivers and
cyclists.

“What we found is that risks were similar for men aged between 21 and 49 for
all three modes of transport and for female pedestrians and drivers aged
between 21 and 69 years,” said Jennifer Mindell, the study’s lead author.

“However, we found that for young male cyclists between 17 and 20 years of
age, cycling was markedly safer than travelling by car.” The researchers
added: “Perceived road danger is a strong disincentive to cycling and many
potential cyclists do not ride on the road due to safety concerns.”

The groups who were most “at risk’ were men aged between 17 and 20 for
driving, men aged over 70 for cycling and women aged over 70 for walking.

The research team also compared the British data with figures from the
Netherlands, where cycling is far more common. They found a similar pattern
in both countries, with teenage male cyclists less likely to suffer serious
injury or death than those travelling by car.

“This research dispels the idea that risk for UK cyclists is substantially
higher than for drivers or pedestrians, and hopefully will encourage more
people to take up something which is not only good for health, but also the
environment,” said Dr Mindell.

The researchers say that this is the first time that transport safety has been
analysed by looking at the amount of time spent using a particular vehicle
rather than the number of miles travelled. The research is published in the
journal Plos
One.